Shame
by The Green Lady
Summary: Andromeda runs away to marry a muggle by the name of Ted Tonks, and Sirius is fortunate enough to watch the rest of the family’s horrified and comical reaction that follows the next day.


_Author's note: I got distracted from the epic fanfic I'm writing and wrote this little thing out. The romance of Ted and Andromeda…kinda cute and fluffy- but it was the reaction of the Black family that I had the most fun writing. Crazy Black family moment, haha…_

_So my math sucks, but if you're wondering- the year is 1971 and though I tried to do the ages for everyone- (check the Black family tree on HP Lexicon if it really bothers you) Andromeda is 18 or 19- the middle sister of Bellatrix and Narcissa and Sirius her cousin is 12 or 13….just to help. :D_

* * *

Andromeda stuffed the last of the clothes into her bag- her heart pounding furiously- not from fear- but excitement. She was doing it…she was really doing it… 

She looked at herself briefly in the mirror for a moment and tried unsuccessfully to wipe the stupid grin from off her face. She tried…and failed. Her grin was even broader than before as she set about throwing another pair of shoes into her bag.

She was running away. Committing the unthinkable. She was going to run away from her family and marry the man of her dreams…

It sounded so corny. Like one of those cheesy romance novels that Cissy was so fond of. She knew it was ridiculous, but he was more than she had ever imagined. And moreover, he was the opposite of what she had expected to marry. He was a muggle. A complete muggle. He had never heard of magic before she came along. He worked in a family car business for goodness sakes.

And yet she loved every bit of him. She had never met anyone before relatively similar so that she could compare him. So she was marrying him.

She set about stuffing a few more dresses into her bag and thought back on when the first met… if someone had told her that in a few months she'd be marrying him- she would have never believed it…

* * *

She had gone for a walk- just downtown after repeated assurances to her parents that she would be back soon enough and was just going out for some fresh air. She had walked a good way and had somehow found herself in the dodgy section of London- as she quickly headed towards the safer end however she was crossing a gravely driveway that led to the main road when suddenly-out of nowhere-the old back end of a car came quickly backing up to collide right into her. 

She let out a scream of surprise- and fell onto the footpath in a pile of dust and aching all over from the sudden fall.

"Hey- are you ALRIGHT!?!?!" came a man's voice from nearby.

Andromeda shook her head- her vision spinning and tried to sit up.

A pair of large hands were on her and helped her to sit up- she blinked and focused on a young man- perhaps only a year or two older than herself, covered completely in dirt, grime and oil. He was wearing a navy blue work shirt and denim jeans all of which had grease stains on them. The shirt pocket had a label- 'Tonks' auto shop'.

She found herself staring at his face- he had mousy brown hair and a square jaw and was very handsome- he had very blue eyes…

"Hey- easy now-" he was saying gently. "How many fingers am I holding up?"

She looked at his hand and noticed that he had dirt under his fingernails. _How distgusting…_she thought. "Three." She replied.

He sighed in relief and dropped his hand. "Thank god-" he said. "I thought you might have gotten a concussion or something."

"No, no- I'm fine."

"Do you think you can stand?"

Andromeda stuck out her jaw in a determined way. "Of course I can- I'm not weak."

He looked surprised. "I never said you were, come'on then-" he said helping her up.

Andromeda managed to stand up- her legs shaking uncontrollably however and she felt like she had been hit with a jelly-legs jinx. She tossed back her long red hair, trying to appear smooth and debonair.

The young man still had his hands around her shoulder and waist to support her.

She took a step forward to free herself from his grasp and would have collapsed to the ground if he hadn't caught her.

"Perhaps it's best if you sat down for a moment." He said firmly as he helped steer her over across the driveway and over to a dumpy looking garage that bore the chipped lettering of- 'Tonks' auto shop'.

Andromeda was torn between shaking him off and yelling at him for being so presumptuous and yet, he seemed nice and honestly concerned about her, plus he was very good-looking…

She shook her head again, wondering what was coming over her. He was a muggle!

There were a few plastic chairs outside of the garage, he helped her into one of them and straightened up, "Hold on a minute- I'm going to get you some water."

He went inside the small shop door- and came back a few minutes later bearing a paper cup of water- Andromeda eyed it greedily.

He handed it to her and she thanked him politely before taking a small sip of the refreshing cool water. With the summer sun beating down on her- the heat was unbearable. She had to restrain herself with difficulty from gulping down the rest of her drink.

"I'm real sorry about that." said the man. "I didn't even think to check the rear-window mirror before backing up- usually no one's around-"

"It's alright." Andromeda said stiffly.

The young man scratched the back of his neck-bit his lip and then sat down in the chair next to her- "So- what's your name?"

"Andromeda Black."

"That's a pretty name."

She was taken aback at his blunt honesty. "Oh…thank you."

"Mine is Ted…Ted Tonks."

Andromeda thought of pointing out that she hadn't asked him what his name was, and nor did she care when she realized with a jolt of shock- she was curious.

"Is this your shop?" she asked him.

He shook his head. "It's my family's. It's been a business for us all ever since my grandfather started it."

She eyed the chipped and grime covered garage and nodded. "I see."

"So where are you from?"

"I'm staying in London with my extended family this summer."

"Oh. That's nice."

"We live out in the country though the rest of the time."

"I've got an Aunt who lives out there- we go and visit her occasionally. Beautiful place."

"Yes, it is."

Another man would have been put off by her chilly demeanor. At school they always were- but the young man in front of her didn't seem bothered- of course- he didn't know about her family or background so that may have had a lot to do with it.

Fortunately, Ted Tonks was a man who knew a good thing when he saw one- after working with automobiles for so long- he knew what was good and what was downright bad and knew that with some things, though they appeared a lost cause at first- after treated with a little care, could be beautiful…

He scratched his chin thoughtfully. "You have a summer job around here?"

"No, I'm taking a year off before I go into work."

"Oh? What are you going to do?"

She grit her teeth. "I'm not sure."

"Did you just get out of school?"

"I graduated from my final year not too long ago."

"Where did you go to school?"

"WHY are you so nosy?"  
He still was not put off it seemed because he smiled and replied, "Just trying to start a conversation. Since you won't do the talking- I felt obliged to."

She opened her mouth furiously and stared at him- trying to work out what she thought of him.

An awkward silence filled the air between them again.

"So…" Ted said. "Do you have a car?"

"Of course not!" Andromeda said quickly.

He frowned. "No? Why?"

She forgot that it was common for muggles to have cars. "Oh." She invented. "My parents won't let me drive."

"What?!?!" Ted exclaimed. "That's ridiculous!"

"I suppose their just trying to protect me."

"How do you get around?"

"Well, er- walking mostly."

Ted shook his head, looking astonished. "Have you ever driven before?"

"No."

Ted gaped at her, a look of utter confusion and horror on his face. "Never?"

"Never, ever." Andromeda confessed and found herself giggling at his expression.

"Well that won't do at all." He said suddenly, standing up and extending his hand to her.

'What?"

"Come'on."

"Where are we going?" she asked nervously.

He laughed. "Driving."

* * *

And they had indeed. Ted began to teach her that very day, how to drive out in their back parking lot. The entire time she maintained a white-knuckled, death grip on the steering wheel, sweating like an overworked houself. Ted was patient and kind to her as she bumped into the dustbins several times and scraped the side of the old car by getting too close to the chain-linked fence. He had saved and reassured her after she accidentally knocked the gearstick into reverse and started screaming as the car started going backwards at a terrifying 5 miles an hour. Admittedly, he was laughing at first but he showed her mistake and encouraged her to try again. She had just gotten down the basics when she asked for the time and was horrified when she found out- she was going to be more than late returning home, she left quickly- but promised Ted she'd be back. As scary as driving was- she found that it was enjoyable and Ted being her teacher was quite enjoyable- especially when he had his hands over hers to help her steer, she had liked that part the best. 

She returned again and again- and starting lying to her family telling them she was spending time with an old school-friend of hers that was in the area. She had covered her tracks well as she slipped out to meet with Ted and learn how to drive.

And eventually things got serious- they found a lot to talk about surprisingly and Andromeda got to be a very good driver with his help. They had had a lot of fun learning how to drive in the car…and- Andromeda smirked to herself as she threw her small box of jewelry into the bag- doing other things in the backseat.

She squeezed the bag shut the best she could and began to try and zipper the sides, she remembered when she finally broke down and confessed to Ted about her real life- being a witch, and being a member of the Black family…he had listened to her calmly, hiding his confusion the best he could- but when she finished and watched him tearfully, expecting him to end things right on the spot she was astonished when he pulled her to her feet and kissed her long and hard. He had told her that he still loved her, and if she'd still have him, he'd like to marry her if she wanted.

She managed to fix the straps on her bag- her family was spending the summer at 12 Grimmauld Place, her Aunt and Uncle's house- her own family home was being fixed up, it was too old and had too many problems with it- a few of her other family members were visiting too at the dark London flat- She was glad now they got to spend the summer there, she never would have met Ted otherwise-She glanced about the room to see if she had forgotten anything- Nope, she was ready to go…

Andromeda left the neatly written card she had left for them all on her pillow. She opened the door and headed out into the hall. She hesitated in front of her sister's rooms….she would miss them. They were her sisters afterall, but she wondered if they could ever understand. Deep down, she doubted it and it made her sad to think that she would most likely never see or speak to them again.

Quietly she went downstairs, being careful not to tread on the creaky sections and was halfway to the front door when-

"So where's the honeymoon going to be?"

She felt her blood turn to ice- and her heart turn to stone- she whipped around to see a young dark-haired boy standing in the shadows, a sly smile on his handsome face as he watched her.

"Sirius!" she hissed. "What are you doing?!?! Get back to bed!"

"Tell him I say 'congratulations' eh?"

She looked at him in shock, "How did you know-?" she asked through numb lips.

"Sorry cuz, one day I couldn't resist following you one night- I knew you'd been sneaking out a lot but then when I found out- well, I was I astonished to say the least- but absolutely thrilled."

Andromeda eyed him suspiciously. "You won't tell anybody, will you?"

Sirius snorted quietly. "Who do you think I am? I'm not saying a word- they're going to wake up tomorrow and start wondering where you are around breakfast time-"

"I'm leaving behind a note."

Sirius grinned. "Even better. The thing I'm most glad about is that I'll be able to see it tomorrow morning- too bad for you, you're already going to be Mrs. Andromeda Tonks by that time-"

"SHHHH!" she said, but unable to keep from smiling. "You'd better get back to bed."

"One question-"

"What?"

"Do you love him?"

Andromeda was completely thrown by the question. "Of course- more than anything...he means everything to me, being with him is like- it's like living another life or something, I've never been so happy before."

Sirius smiled. "Even better. I'm proud of you cuz-"

Andromeda put down her bag to give Sirius a hug. "If you ever need to go anywhere or need help…just come and find me."

"I will. Send me an owl in a few months when I'm at school." Sirius said gently pulling away from her and giving her an encouraging smile.

Andromeda leaned forward and kissed him on the forehead as a final farewell and then turned to pick up her bag and quietly walked out the front door- shutting it quietly behind her.

* * *

"Get that sour look off your face." Walburga Black snapped as Sirius came downstairs and sat down heavily in one of the drawing room chairs. 

He glared at her and said nothing, though inside he felt he could have jumped up and done a jig. He was doing a very good job so far of acting like he usually did.

His great grandfather- Arcturus Black was snoring in the large armchair. He was still living and had reached quite an old age for a Black- 70 years old. Great Aunt Cassiopeia, the crazy aunt that smelled like mothballs was picking imaginary bugs out of her cat's fur again…His mustached Uncle Alphard was stirring his tea absentmindedly with his spoon, and his pale faced Uncle Cygnus and Aunt Druella were sitting stiffly on the sofa talking to his father about muggle-baiting laws.

Regulus was sitting by his mother who was petting his dark hair like he was a faiththful lap-dog. He turned in disgust from that scene to look at Narcissa who was playing the piano quietly in the corner. Bella was nowhere to be seen.

Sirius wondered where Andromeda and Ted were now. Hopefully halfway across the ocean…maybe to somewhere exotic- like Egypt. He always wanted to go to Egypt- see the pyramids…

Suddenly a young, dark haired woman walked into the drawing room looking slightly breathless- her heavily hooded eyes scanned the room quickly and narrowed.

"Where is Andy?"

Narcissa stopped playing the piano to look up- the conversation between his relatives and his father stopped, his mother stopped petting Regulus- Uncle Alphard even stopped stirring his tea.

"I imagine she would be upstairs getting ready to come down." Aunt Druella said in a bored sort of voice.

"She isn't! I just checked!" Bellatrix exclaimed. "She's gone!"

"Now let's not be hasty, Bella." Uncle Cygnus said in his feeble voice. "Where would she have gone?"

Sirius bit his lip to keep from smiling.

Bella didn't stay for an answer- she ran from the room and they could hear her running up the stairs.

"I'm sure she's around somewhere." Aunt Druella said loudly, examining her long, luridly, painted nails.

"Bella's just overreacting." Walburga sneered.

Suddenly an ear-splitting shriek from upstairs- caused the entire room to fall silent and stare at each other in confusion.

Within seconds- Bella appeared in the doorway again- her eyes alight in a maniacal sort of way. "Ah-ha! HERE!" she screamed waving about a small piece of parchment before their eyes.

"What is it?" Druella asked, sounding completely uninterested as if she had heard hysterical outbursts like this from Bella all too often.

"She's gone!" Bella screeched. "She's run off with a mudblood!"

"GOBLINS?!?!" screamed Aunt Cassiopeia, jumping to her feet so fast her cat fell to the floor with a loud hiss. "I KNEW THEY'D BE BACK!!!!!"

"Impossible!" Uncle Cygnus said ignoring his Aunt's exclamation, although he was much paler than usual. "She doesn't know any mudbloods."

Narcissa stood up- and ran to Bella's side to read the note- no sooner had she grabbed hold of it when his own mother who had by then leaped to her feet as well- strode over and snatched it out of her niece's hands to read it herself.

"AHHHHH!!!!" screamed Cassiopeia, summoning her favorite lacey umbrella and began waving it around like a sword. "THEY SHALL NEVER ATTACK THIS PLACE AS LONG AS I'M STANDING! I WILL CUT OFF THEIR THEIVING HANDS TO DECORATE MY SKIRTING BOARD AND SMASH THEIR SPHERICAL HEADS TO FEED THE SEA-SHELLS!!!"

Uncle Alphard who had been stirring his tea again after the commotion began, finally set it down with an exasperated sigh and began nibbling on one of the biscuits that had been placed on the table.

Regulus sat there on the couch looking blank and confused as his father and Uncle began arguing.

"Perhaps we ought to send out a search party."

"I don't know where on earth my daughter would have met a muggle- she never mentioned him- maybe he's bewitched her."

"Don't be absurd Cygnus, honestly- he's a muggle-how could he have-"

"OH, THE SHAME!" Aunt Druella sobbed into her handkerchief as she finally came to the realization that something horrible had indeed occurred.

Sirius sat there with a grin on his face. Across from him, his Uncle Alphard looked over at his nephew's gleeful expression and raised a questioning eyebrow.

"I knew it!" Bellatrix spat, angrily pacing the room. "I knew she was up to something! She's been acting funny these past few weeks-"

Cissy began to cry in her own overly dramatic way obviously hoping someone would notice and would try to comfort her. She always loved being at the center of attention.

Grandfather Arcturus continued to snore in his armchair.

"TO ARMS!!!!!!" screamed Aunt Cassiopeia- nearly stepping on her own cat which let out a furious screech and dove under the sofa for safety.

Sirius was unable to repress a snort of laughter which unfortunately was loud enough to have everyone stop what they were doing to stare at him. Everyone except Aunt Cassiopeia who was still waving about her umbrella and Grandfather Arcturus who was still sleeping.

"HE KNOWS SOMETHING!" Bellatrix screamed coming over to grab the front of his robes and pull him to his feet. "WHAT DO YOU KNOW YOU LITTLE, TWO-FACED BRAT?"

Sirius tried to keep his face impassive and failed as he burst out laughing which only incensed his older cousin whose dark eyes were blazing with fury. She began roughly shaking him as if it would solve the problem.

"Sorry-" Sirius gasped, as tears of mirth began to run down his face. "It's just too funny-"

"FUNNY!?!?!" screamed his mother, striding over to him- Andromeda's note still in her clawlike hand. "YOUR COUSIN HAS JUST DISGRACED THE ENTIRE FAMILY AND YOU FIND THE SITUATION COMICAL?!?!"

"Yes, as a matter of face I do." Sirius said defiantly.

Bella gasped as if he had just let out a filthy swear word. His mother slapped him. It stung something awful but it still could not cure the hilarity of the situation for him.

Aunt Druella collapsed onto the floor- sobbing hysterically into a now sopping wet handkerchief. His father moved over to the winecabinet to pour his Uncle Cygnus a glass who looked as if he were upon the verge of collapse.

Aunt Cassiopeia was beating the bookshelf now with her umbrella still shrieking about thieving goblins. Cissy was still crying hard in the corner, occasionally peeking through her fingers to see if anyone was watching her yet- while Regulus stared about the room wide-eyed. Uncle Alphard took a sip of tea and nudged the cat with his foot which had peeked it's head out from under the sofa to see if the area was safe to venture out into.

"What's the note say?" Sirius asked pulling himself free of Bella's grip.

"YES! What does it say?" Druella cried looking up from the floor- her face wet with tears.

His mother's lip curled as if she were about to refuse because Sirius had originally asked, but because Druella had asked as well, she was forced to oblige- she unfolded the note and read outloud in a cold, hard voice,

" '_My dear family,_

_By the time you read this- I will be long gone. There is no easy way to say this, and I do not expect any of you understand this- but I am in love.'_"

Here, Bella let out a loud, incredulous snort.

_"'I am deeply in love with a young man who loves me in return- a man with whom I am more than happy to spend the rest of my life with. His name is Ted and although he is a muggle-"_ Walburga Black looked as if she had just been forced to swallow a lemon, it took her a few moments to regain her self control and voice again to continue reading-Everyone who was listening to the letter except for Alphard and Sirius let out a shudder at the word 'muggle' as well- "_me and him have decided to marry. He knows about my background being a witch and does not mind and so I beg of you not to try and hunt us down because at this point we will be miles away- and I will most likely already be married_.'"

At this point Cygnus collapsed into his chair- wearing an expression similar to having been clubbed over the head. Druella let out a cry as if she had been physically stabbed.

"'_I know that by marrying Ted my family will not accept me ever again- and I'm more than willing to give that up if it means getting to live with my dear Ted for the years to come-but I hope deep down however you will find it in your hearts to forgive me for deceiving and leaving you all like this- because I do care about you all and love you dearly._

_I will miss you all-and hope that someday we may meet again._

_With love,_

_Andromeda.'_"

Walburga Black let the letter fall from her hands as if it had suddenly caught on fire. For a moment nobody said a word- and then Aunt Druella let out a small cry and began weeping again. Uncle Cygnus fainted suddenly- not completely unusual as he was the most faint-hearted of the family.

Cissy curled up in a large chair, to continue her loud crying and as his parents fussed over his Uncle, Sirius stared curiously at Bella.

She looked thoughtful- her dark eyes looking as they once were before she left school and moved onto darker and more evil exploits. They looked pensive- like two dark cold wells- she seemed to be reflecting upon her sister's words and Sirius could not recall his older cousin looking so calm and almost well…human.

His parents helped his now trembling Uncle to the couch and lay him on it- his mother sent a cowering Kreacher to go fetch some wet cloths- while Druella shrieked and tore at her hair, beating the ground in a hysterical state.

Sirius wondered if someone ought to get Aunt Cassiodea off of the bookshelf that she was now sitting ontop of and decided in the whole scheme of things it was probably on the bottom of the list.

From his side suddenly came a cold, voice. "Go after her." Bella sneered. "As if we would want to." The cold, hard look in her eyes was back again- as if it had never left.

"Such behavior cannot be permitted!" his mother was saying angrily. "This is INTOLERABLE!"

"OH! I wish I had never given birth to such a filthy, traitor!" Druella screeched.

His mother was immediately at his Aunt's side, an unconvincing expression of understanding and misery on her pale, pointed face.

"There is a way…" his mother said softly.

Druella looked up at her sister in law- and let out a nervous hiccup.

Sirius stared at them in confusion, but not for long as his mother helped Druella to her feet and steered her over the ancient family tapestry upon the wall. Within seconds- everyone was gathered round to see what his mother was going to do.

Walburga Black took out her wand and pointed it on Andromeda's golden name in between Bellatrix and Narcissa.

Suddenly the tip of her wand erupted in flame- burning a large hole where her name was- Sirius inwardly smirked that Andromeda's name was long enough to have his mother blast her name for several seconds- to make sure the whole name was completely erased-

A large black hole was now there- still slightly smoking where his cousin had once stood on the tree…

There was a long, terrible silence until-

"Shame. And eternal shame. Nothing…but shame." Uncle Alphard said quietly.

"You are quite right Alphard," his mother said with a nod, yet a thin smile on her face. "She's brought immeasurable shame and disgrace to our family name by doing what she has done. Such behavior cannot and will never be tolerated in this family." His mother pocketed her wand with an almost triumphant look and then turned to adopt an almost "sympathetic" expression as she helped support a sobbing Druella from the room. The others in the family backed away from the old tapestry leaving Sirius and Uncle Alphard to stand in front of it by themselves.

Sirius looked at his Uncle Alphard who was staring at the still sizzling black hole on the ancient tapestry. "No…" he said softly, more to himself than Sirius. "I did not mean that Andromeda brought shame to us- but that we-this family- have acted shameful when we forgot about what love is really all about."

_fini_


End file.
